Software-defined networking (“SDN”) is an architectural framework for creating intelligent networks that are programmable, application aware, and more open. SDN provides an agile and cost-effective communications platform for handling the dramatic increase in data traffic on networks by providing a high degree of scalability, security, and flexibility. SDN provides several benefits. SDN can allow for the creation of multiple virtual network control planes on common hardware. SDN can help extend service virtualization and software control into many existing network elements. SDN enables applications to request and manipulate services provided by the network and to allow the network to expose network states back to the applications. SDN exposes network capabilities through application programming interfaces (“APIs”), making the control of network equipment remotely accessible and modifiable via third-party software clients using open protocols such as OpenFlow, available from Open Network Forum (“ONF”).
Customer-defined, on-demand cloud services and user digital experience expectations are driving planning and deployment of network function virtualization and service-centric SDN among global telecommunications service providers. Network Virtualization Platforms (“NVPs”), including some cloud platforms, are deployed in information technology (“IT”) data centers and network central offices to accelerate deployment of on-demand user service and virtualized network functions (“VNFs”). A NVP is a shared virtualized infrastructure that supports multiple services and network applications (including real-time and non-real-time applications).
In today's managed services, a fault management system (“FMS”) manages routers, servers, switches, and/or other network elements that are located on the customer's premises. In emerging solutions, the managed router or managed Internet service connections are implemented using virtualized network elements located in a cloud platform. These virtualized network elements are also referred to as managed VNFs. The customers may access managed VNFs via data link layer (Layer 2) Ethernet. The network elements on the customer's end of the connection and the VNF will then belong to the same virtual local area network (“VLAN”). With managed services as defined today, the elements at the customer's end of this connection will not be managed. Therefore, existing FMSs will not be able to proactively identify loss of connectivity between customer end of the access connection and the managed VNF in a cloud platform.
Tools exist that allow intrusive diagnostics of data link layer connectivity loss, but the intrusive nature of these tools render them unsuitable for proactive monitoring. Alternatively, it is possible to change the definition of a service, to request that the customer set up an active IP address known to and accessible by the FMS, and to make the FMS ping the active IP address with a configured interval, similar to what is done in managed services today. This solution changes definition of the service and also limits customer's control of their internal network, and therefore might be not acceptable to the customer for security reasons.